Interview conducted on February 16, 1999. Final transcript
The interview describes Vernon Smith’s career with Pan American World Airways, 1941 to 1980 as an engine mechanic, a communications supervisor, a passenger traffic manager, and a consumer action manager; early interest in aviation, his aeronautic education at Arrow Industries Technical Institute in Glendale, California; decision to apply to Pan American; first job as a mechanic’s assistant at Treasure Island; training and certification as an engine mechanic; induction into the United States Naval Reserve; describes Treasure Island in the early to mid-1940s; his work as a mechanic on the Consolidated PBM, the PB2Y-3, and the Boeing 314; Pan American’s move from Treasure Island to San Francisco Airport; decision to transfer to the Communications Department; his work as a teletype operator, including his work with cryptographic machines; transfer to Honolulu in 1946 as a trainer in the Communications Department; transfer back to San Francisco; decision to move to the Passenger Department in 1949; his work as a passenger traffic supervisor; his work in Alaska with the Baggage, Immigrations, and Customs Departments; encounters with Edward R. Murrow, Ronald Reagan, Captain Dick Ogg, Captain Robert Ford, Charles Lindbergh; additional management training through Pan American in London; changes due to new jet service; transfer from San Francisco to Wake Island in 1956, including motivation for requesting the new base; role of Wake Island in transpacific transportation, including the babylift operations in Korea in the late 1950s; return to San Francisco in 1958; decision to transfer to the Accra base in Ghana in 1962 as district traffic / sales manager and his work there; his experiences during 1966 revolution in Ghana; return to the San Francisco base in 1967; promotion from passenger manager to manager for consumer action; changes associated with the arrival of the Boeing 747; promotion to manager of consumer action; challenges that Pan American faced as a business, competition with other airlines, the early signs of its downfall, and Juan Trippe’s and Harold Gray’s leadership roles; effect his transfers and work had on his family life, and his thoughts about Pan American and his career.
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